Zhizhen Zhang overcame what looked like a worrying injury scare during his Nottingham Open win over top seed Jaime Faria on Tuesday.
The Chinese star progressed through qualifying and a three-set win over Darwin Blanch to set up a second-round clash with Portuguese ace Faria.
The 29-year-old took the first set 6-4 in an impressive display of power serving and groundstrokes but the second set was less straightforward.
The former world No 31 was in all sorts of discomfort midway through the second set, with many onlookers worrying that he had suffered another injury blow.
Zhang – who fell outside the top 400 at the end of 2025 – missed six months of last season due to a shoulder problem and against Faria, it seemed that the same issue had flared up.
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The pain got so bad, Zhang fell to the floor, wincing in agony.
Zhizhen Zhang dropped to his knees during his #NottinghamOpen win over Jaime Faria. He said afterwards, “I had allergies from the grass! Today I felt so tired. I travelled from the Netherlands to here. The good thing is that I handled it pretty well!” pic.twitter.com/0P6539fls4
— RichieMills (@RichieMills2) June 16, 2026
When Faria went 4-3 up in the second set, it seemed as if the Shanghai-born player might not continue.
He managed to weather the storm, call for the doctor and eventually claim a 6-4 7-5 win. Many inside centre court were still unsure what all the commotion was about, until Zhang clued them in on the situation.
The 6ft 4in player has had a busy grass court schedule, playing multiple matches in Birmingham, Hertogenbosch, and now Nottingham. And it seems that caused his hay fever to go haywire.
He said after the match, “We didn’t have many chances; I had only two breaks. It’s the first week of grass for him, so it’s tough. We’re trying to get used to the conditions more and more and I’ve already played for two weeks on grass. This makes all the difference.
“First of all, I had allergies from the grass! Today I felt so tired. I travelled from the Netherlands to here. The good thing is that I handled it pretty well. I’m looking forward to a couple more matches.”
Zhang added that due to a particularly gruelling game midway through the second set, in addition to his busy schedule, led to his legs giving way. Thankfully, the Chinese athlete, who has worked his way up to 173rd in the rankings, said he is on the mend.
“I am okay. I am pretty tired. It’s different than normal and today shouldn’t have been that bad. But with the travelling from the Netherlands to here, playing matches every day, so maybe today there were some issues,” he said.
“Also the allergies from the grass, I just couldn’t run anymore. In that game we had a long rally and then I broke him but I was so tired, I couldn’t stand anymore.
“I was then on the floor. I tried to tell myself, of course, I don’t want to lay down on the floor to let them all see how it looks but everything was okay.”
